Profiling librarians with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: studies in self selection and type stability

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Agada, John

Affiliations: School of Library and Information Science, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA. E-mail: agada@csd.uwm.edu

Abstract: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the most used psychometric instrument in the study of librarians. Recent MBTI studies suggest a librarian profile different from that of previous studies. This variation may be attributed to two causes: either the profession attracted recruits with profiles different from those of librarians of previous times, or the personality of practicing librarians evolved over time. This study was designed to test these hypotheses. Data supported the first, but only partially supported the second hypothesis.

DOI: 10.3233/EFI-1998-16105

Journal: Education for Information, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 57-68, 1998